User:Jjdgzd/sandbox

 Life and Death 

According to Hyginus, Patroclus is the child of Menoetii and Philomelae. Homer also references Menoitios as the individual who gave Patroclus to Peleus. Menoitios is the son of Actor.

During his childhood, Patroclus had killed another child in anger over a game. Mentions gave Patroclus to Peleus, Achilles' father, who named Patroclus one of Achilles' "henchmen" as Patroclus and Achilles grew up together. Patroclus acted as a male role model for Achilles, as he was both older than Achilles and wise regarding counsel.

According to the Iliad, when the tide of war had turned against the Greeks and the Trojans were threatening their ships, Patroclus covinced Achilles to let him lead the Myrmidons into combat. Achilles consented, giving Patroclus the armor Achilles had received from his father, Peleus, in order for Patroclus to impersonate Achilles. Achilles then told Patroclus to return after beating the Trojans back from their ships. Patroclus defied Achilles' order and pursued the Trojans back to the gates of Troy. Patroclus killed many Trojans, including a son of Zeus, Sarpedon. While battling, Patroclus wits were removed by Apollo and hit with the spear of Euphorbos. Hector then killed Patroclus by stabbing him in the stomach with a spear. Patroclus was cremated on a funeral pyre, which was covered in the hair of his sorrowful companions. As the cutting of hair was a sign of grief while acting as a sign of the separation of the living and the dead, this points to how well-liked Patroclus had been. The ashes of Achilles were said to have been buried in the golden urn along with those of Patroclus by the Hellespont.

 Patroclus and Achilles 

Although Homer does not state that Achilles and Patroclus are in a relationship, there is debate whether or not they participated in a personal, and possibly a homosexual, relationship. Morales and Mariscal point out that there are several other authors who do draw a romantic connection between the two characters, such as Aeschylus and Phaedrus, who even refers to Achilles as the eromenos. Morales and Mariscal continue stating, "there is a polemical tradition concerning the nature of the relationship between the two heroes". According to Grace Ledbetter, there is a train of thought that Patroclus could have been a representation of the compassionate side of Achilles, who was known for his rage. In contradiction to Morales and Mariscal putting Achilles in the role of the younger male, Ledbetter connects the way that Achilles and his mother Thetis communicate to the communication between Achilles and Patroclus. Ledbetter does so be comparing how Thetis comforts the weeping Achilles in Book 1 of the Iliad to how Achilles comforts Patroclus as he weeps in Book 16. Achilles uses a simile containing a young girl tearfully looking at her mother to complete the comparison. Ledbetter believes this puts Patroclus into a subordinate role to that of Achilles.

James Hooker describes the literary reasons for Patroclus' character within the Iliad, calling him a necessary person and hero. He states that another character could have filled the role of confidant for Achilles, and that it was only through Patroclus that we have a worthy reason for Achilles' wrath. Hooker claims that without the death of Patroclus, an event that weighed heavily upon him, Achilles' following act of compliance to fight would have disrupted the balance of the Iliad. Hooker describes the necessity of Patroclus sharing a deep affection with Achilles within the Iliad. According to his theory, this affection allows for the even deeper tragedy that occurs. Hooker argues that the greater the love, the greater the loss. Hooker continues to negate Ledbetter's theory that Patroclus is in some way a surrogate for Achilles; rather, Hooker views Patroclus' character as a counterpart to that of Achilles. Hooker reminds us that it is Patroclus who pushes the Trojans back, which Hooker claims makes Patroclus a hero, as well as a foreshadow of what Achilles is to do.